As we read through the teachings of Jesus we see clearly that He taught His followers to keep the Commandments of God. On the sermon on the mount He said "Never imagine I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill." Jesus went on to explain that the complete fulfillment of the Law would not occur until heaven and earth has passed away.

On His last Passover He expounded upon the subject a number of times saying, -"If you love Me you will keep My Commandments . . .He who has My Commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. . .If you keep My Commandments you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s Commandments and abide in His love."

Jesus is also the Author of the Book of Revelation where He directly speaks to His servants through His holy angel. Twice in this Book He identifies His true followers as those who put their trust in Him and who keep the Commandments of God, -"So the dragon was enraged with the woman (church) and went off to make war with the rest of her children who keep the Commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus." (12:17) And "Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the Commandments of God and their faith in Jesus." (14:12)

Paul wrote to the Corinthians saying, "Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the Commandments of God." (1 Cor. 7:19) But perhaps the most enlightening writings in the New Testament explaining the why and regarding the need to keep the Commandments of God is found in the final Books, the epistles of John. In 1 John 5;2-3 we learn that the manifestation of God’s love is observing the Commandments of God, -"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His Commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His Commandments; and His Commandments are not burdensome." Notice also that the Spirit of the Lord is revealing that keeping God’s Commandments is the expression of love. John wrote basically the same in his second letter, saying, -"And this is love, that we walk according to His Commandments. This is the Commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it." (Verse 6)1 John 2:3-6 explains that Christians are assured that they have come to know the Lord by their desire to obey Him by keeping His Commandments.

So the Scriptures make it abundantly clear that true followers of Jesus will show a desire to obey the Lord by keeping His Commandments. However, in Romans 7 the Apostle Paul tells us that though he agrees with the Law and that God’s Commandments are righteous and good, that he finds himself breaking those very Commandments, -"I would not have come to know sin except through the Law. . .and this Commandment (coveting) which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; . . .For we know that the Law is Spiritual, but I am of flesh and sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate."

The Apostle Paul is clearly conveying the truth that outside of Christ we are all helpless sinners. In the first three chapters of Romans he argues that all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God-whether Jew or Gentile, it doesn’t matter. The Jews are guilty because they never obeyed the Law that the Lord gave them, and the Gentiles are guilty because they never obeyed the natural law written in the heart of every man.

Paul quotes Psalm 14 saying, -"There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, there is not even one." (Romans 3:10-12) There can be no doubt that the Apostle is including himself, -"I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I found mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life." (1 Timothy 1:13-16)

One day a young man who was not only rich but was a ruler of the people came to Jesus and asked, -"Good Teacher, what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus answered, -"Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone." Jesus then told the young man that if he wished to inherit eternal life to keep the Ten Commandments. The young ruler responded by saying that he had kept these Commandments from his youth and then asked "What am I still lacking?" What the Lord said next not only stunned the young man but set him at the crossroads in the valley of decision, -"Go and sell all you have and give it to the poor and follow Me." This would fulfill the great two principles of the Commandments of love for God and for man- a demonstration of mercy and love for others. Can you see the hypocrisy of this young rich powerful man asking for the "inheritance" of eternal life while having already "inherited" a great fortune in this life yet doing nothing to help the poor in need? This is why Jesus later explained to His disciples that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

What Jesus was saying is that no one can be perfect by merely striving to obey the Commandments-but that a merciful God requires His children to practice mercy and to care for those in need. James, the brother of Jesus wrote, -"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights" and -"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this; to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world." (James 1)

When asked which was the great Commandment Jesus said that all the Commandments can be summed up in two great principles of love for God and love for your fellow man. God’s love is merciful and kind and forgiving, and does not take into account wrongs suffered. Love is patient, gentle and endures all things. That is how God is. God is love. (1 John 4:7) When we come humbly before Him to receive His mercy and grace He forgives us and remembers our transgressions no more. On the Sermon on the Mount of Olives Jesus taught, -"Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy." (Matthew 5:7)

All of us who truly love the Lord desire to walk humbly and faithfully in obedience to His Commandments. But as Paul found, he always fell short. And we will always fall short too. As C.S. Lewis said, "No man knows how bad he is til he has tried very hard to be good." God knows this very well which is the very reason He demonstrated His love, mercy and grace by giving His only Son to pay for our sins, past, present and future. Yes, we are sin sick souls who agree with the Lord and hate sin while acknowledging the wretchedness of our condition in the flesh. But though we have been born of Adam, the first man who sinned, in Christ we have been born again to a new hope as a new creation in which we have been declared holy, righteous, pure and blameless. We may have a wretched condition but we have a perfect and glorious position in Christ. And it is our position that the Lord sees-praise God! This is the result of the sanctifying work of God’s mercy and grace.

As followers of Christ we will certainly experience highs and lows. We see it clearly played out in the lives of the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us. Mary, the mother of Jesus once attempted to take custody of Him because she thought that He had lost His senses. It’s an amazing story since she knew who He really was and had witnessed the miracles. John the Baptist began to doubt whether Jesus was the promised Messiah while awaiting his execution in jail. The Spirit of the Lord testified through him saying -"Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." John had seen the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus as a dove and heard the voice of the Lord say, -"This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." John knew the of the miracles, yet he doubted in his low moment so much that he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was truly the Messiah or should we expect someone else. Jesus simply sent the message that the blind see, the lame walk and the deaf hear. After a great Spiritual high when Elijah exposed the Prophets of Baal, he quickly found himself running for his life from Jezebel. He was so distraught that he hid in a cave and asked God to take his life.

So yes, as followers of Christ we will always find ourselves in the valleys low and on the mountains high and everywhere in between. But God never changes. His love, mercy and grace are always there for us. God is faithful even during times when our faith falters, -"If we are faithless He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." (2 Timothy 2:13) Yes, we strive to please the Lord in obedience to His Commandments. That is why for 46 years I have observed the Commandment to remember and keep the Sabbath Day holy. So try we should while knowing that we will fall short and need God’s mercy and grace every single day. We must put our trust and our faith in the finite compassionate love, mercy and grace of our Heavenly Father who loves us with an everlasting love. A love that cannot be quenched nor denied. And the Bible tells us that it is by this faith that all of the great cloud of witnesses were accepted. And it’s our faith that pleases the Lord, -"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) By contrast, if we plant our roots in our own good works we will continually see how we fail our Beloved and will give the devil opportunity to whisper condemnation into our minds.

I am reminded of how Joshua, Israel’s High Priest stood before God’s Throne being viciously accused by the devil. And the truth was that Joshua was guilty. His life had been stained by sin and by the world. Zechariah 3 says that he stood clothed in filthy garments which represented the unrighteous deeds of his life. But an amazing thing happened! The God of love acted in mercy and bestowed grace upon this sinner. And not only that, but the Lord openly rebuked Satan. And as the devil now silent looked on, he heard the Lord say to holy angels present, -"Remove the filthy garments from him. Again He said to him, ‘See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes." (Vs 4)

Can you receive that for yourself beloved? Can you receive the truth that you are helpless to produce your own righteousness through your obedience? Can you see and receive that it has been this way since the very beginning. After sinning, Adam and Eve not only hid from their Creator, but made for themselves a covering for their nakedness by sewing fig leaves together. But this was not acceptable to the Lord. He would not allow them to cover themselves. The Lord Himself covered the nakedness of their sin with animal skins which He, Himself made for them. And that is exactly what He still does for each of His children- He covers them in their nakedness with the torn flesh and shed blood of the Lamb of God.

Grace. The unmerited favor of God-all because of Jesus Christ. Grace, is there a more beautiful word? As perhaps the most beautiful of all hymn says, "Though many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home." Amazing Grace